Disclaimer: I still don't own Legend of Korra.

A/N: Hello again,

Here is the next chapter, a little earlier than usual. Here was my prompt:
jazzymblover: 'Maybe a post-break up fanfic', or maybe a Lin POV and Tenzin POV that takes place right after Pema and Tenzin get married please?'

I don't want to play the pity card, but I had a couple terrible days, so reviews would be even more appreciated than usual.
Love,
-Wil.

Part III – Autumn

He had never meant to let her go.

…

Lying awake as he attempted to distinguish darker patches on the ceiling despite the obvious lack of light within the room, Tenzin struggled to calm his upset mind. Deciding he wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon, he sat up in the bed, slowly uncoiling Pema's arm from around his broad chest, as for not to disturb her sleep.

With a tender smile, he brushed a lock of hair away from her soft forehead, before ghosting a hand over the still small bump of the young woman's belly. He would be a father soon, and no prospect whatsoever could have delighted him more. So why on earth did he still feel so utterly miserable?

Why would blurred memories of Lin still haunt his every dream and nightmare, months after their heart-wrenching separation?

Tenzin adored Pema, there was no doubt on that matter. She was kind, soft, compassionate, quirky, everything he'd hoped to find in a partner, and everything Lin had never been. She was attentive, she was witty, she wanted to raise a family of airbenders just as much as he did. There was no reason for this entire situation to feel so entirely wrong; and yet it did, day after day.

On the nights he felt especially guilt-ridden, Tenzin liked to reassure himself with the thought that he and Lin had been growing apart for quite some time before their split-up. In a desperate desire to fulfill her mother's every wish, Lin had thrown herself into her job heart and soul, completely neglecting Tenzin's needs and wishes for the future.

She kept on assessing she had no time for a family of her own, that her career would be the only thing to ever matter. She may still have loved him by the time he left, but he was pretty certain she didn't like him anymore.

However, if Lin had played a role in the downfall of their relationship, so had he- an even greater one, possibly. Instead of confronting Lin about the growing issues in their relationship, he'd decided to play blind until it was entirely too late. They would always bicker about the increasing importance of the earthbender's professional commitments, yet not once had he simply mentioned he missed and needed her more than air. Similarly, he'd always assume Lin would never want to bear children, but never had he either gathered the courage to ask her.

They would always quarrel about things and others, but never about what mattered most, and Tenzin believed it was, in the end, the real reason which had precipitated the end of their relationship: they both loved one another too deeply to risk unbalancing what they had so carefully created.

Then Pema had come along: she had been sweet, beautiful and ever so refreshing. She'd touched Tenzin's heart with her assertive confession while providing him with the attention and straightforwardness he lacked from Lin. In a couple weeks, he had allowed her to capture a piece of his heart, and that had been enough to lead them all astray.

The first time he had mentioned her to Lin, the earthbender had snickered, mocking the woman's youth as well as her feelings. Not once had she felt threatened, when all Tenzin desired from her had been a sign that she still cared whether or not he was hers alone.

He'd let his rational mind lead him after that, like a snake restlessly slithering in his soul, whispering that Pema was safe a choice, that she represented his only hope for a family, as well as for the survival of airbenders as a nation. He'd let his duty to his father rule over his own heart, and after a few weeks only, he'd managed to convince himself he could no longer live with Lin, for he'd unexpectedly fallen for the young brunette.

The separation had been violent, cruel, irrevocable. Tenzin had let himself be carried away by anger so powerful that by the time Lin had slammed the door at his face, he thought he despised her as much as she probably despised him. At that moment, he was convinced he had taken the right decision.

Now his doubts were growing by the minute. Despite his enormous amount of affection for Pema, he couldn't stop missing Lin every second of every day. He tried to convey her image at night, to let his mind paint back cherished memories, now lost to him forever. He could feel her slipping away from him, however he attempted to bring her back to life, and that thought terrified him utterly.

Yet he knew it was too late. Pema now wore a silver ring matching his, and their first child would be born in a few months' time. Tenzin knew he could never hurt such a kind soul this way, nor did he ever want to. So he would bite his lips at night, trying to ignore every inch of his body screaming at him that he would never, ever stop loving the woman he'd taken for granted, the same one he'd cowardly abandoned the very first time things had gotten tough.

His blue eyes sometimes stung, and he would wipe the tears away quickly, refusing himself even the possibility of regret. He adored Pema, and she loved him deeply. They would be happy. They would make do. It had to be enough.

…

She had refused to show weakness. She had refused to even care. His words had rung and rung within her ears, sounding hollow, meaningless. She hadn't shed a single tear before the door had slammed shut before Tenzin.

Lin had taken several hours to encompass the scene that had just taken place. The initial shock had made her mind numb, and she barely remembered what had been said and done. Only when she had come back to her senses, had she measured how horribly it would hurt.

Pacing throughout her apartment for hours, she'd considered every single possibility, only to decide that Tenzin would certainly be back in a few days' time; she knew he couldn't seriously have fallen for the child. It was only meant to spite her; he would come back to her, in the end. Everything would be just as it should.

When she noticed he had taken Oogi's whistle from the nightstand it belonged to, however, Lin finally realised he would not.

She fell to her knees, and for the first time in decades, allowed herself to fully feel the pain she'd always tried to bury deep within her bosom.

…

Lin hadn't realised she was crying until she'd wrecked almost the entirety of Air Temple Island. She couldn't see straight anymore, and instead let herself be guided solely by the sound of boulders crashing against stone walls, and rocks colliding into one another with fierceness. She basked in the feeling of dust and destruction wrapping tighter and tighter around her.

It had taken almost all of Toph's efforts to tame her oldest daughter back to reason. She who had always been the quiet and reasonable one was transformed: Toph could feel her tousled hair sprinkled with dust, her humid cheeks swollen from too many tears. She could feel her shaking in her embrace, while endless flows of her tears were drenching Toph's uniform little by little.

Utterly distraught by such a scene, Toph's heart had ached for her daughter as much as Lin's had done for Tenzin.

At the price of many efforts, Toph had managed to convince Lin that reducing Air Temple Island to ruins was not a viable mean of draining her anger and grief away; instead, she had not been able to resist suggesting the idea of offering Pema an unexpected tour of Republic City's renowned jails. Lin had laughed through her tears, and her mother had had the distinct impression that her words had not fallen on deaf ears. She'd held her daughter tighter.

…

In a few weeks only, Lin had made a point of honour at getting rid of everything she owned that reminded her of Tenzin in any way. She had burnt the letters and torn the pictures, given away the jewels and ornaments. The only trinket she had been unable to part with, despite her good will, was the metal bracelet he had given her on her birthday. Lin kept on telling herself the only purpose of keeping it was because it had proven useful in the past, but she knew, in her heart of hearts, that it was not quite the real reason.

In that very moment, however, she was glad to still have it in her possession, for toying with the bracelet seemed to be the only thing allowing Lin to live through the ordeal that was assisting to Tenzin's wedding. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, clenching her fingers around the rim of the bracelet until she felt the metal painfully dig within her skin.

As she forced herself to look up, Lin caught sight of Bumi, standing opposite to his sister Kya, positively beaming with happiness. When he met her gaze, though, he had the decency to flash her a sincere apologetic look. She nodded back at him, finding it impossible to find the strength to remain mad at him any longer.

What had happened had been entirely Tenzin's fault –and hers, probably to a greater extent than she would ever admit- but Kya and Bumi had been nothing but kind and compassionate about the entire situation. The waterbender had even been sweet enough to provide Lin with company and attention when she needed it most, and for that, the latter would forever be grateful to first.

When the solemn music began echoing throughout the temple, Lin, despite her efforts, found herself unable to remain within the same room as Tenzin and Pema any longer. As discreetly as she could, she sneaked out, hoping she would at least make it to the door before collapsing.

She was surprised to find herself promptly gathered in her mother's strong arms as she did.

'Hey,' Toph whispered softly, running tender hands through her daughter's hair, 'it'll be okay, my little rock. You're stronger than this, I know it.'

Silently pressing her forehead against her mother's breast, Lin allowed herself to feel vulnerable for a couple seconds, before swiftly pushing herself off Toph's embrace, smiling at her as she did.

'It's alright, mother,' she replied in a voice she wished could have sounded more honest. 'I must admit I even feel quite sorry for little Pema. She is going to have to live with that imbecile for the rest of her life.'

Despite Lin's efforts, her voice cracked upon the last few words, and Toph embraced her again. This time, Lin felt her hands grasp her mother's uniform on their own accord, and she sniffled rather pitifully, refusing to look up from Toph's shoulder. She could not face this on her own, the pain was far too bitter and biting.

'Let it all out, baby,' Toph cooed, rubbing soothing circles upon her daughter's back. 'It's the best there is to do. Trust me, I know exactly how you feel.'

Lin remained silent for a few seconds, clutching her mother tightly.

'Does it ever get better?'

'You'll feel the ache less vividly as time goes by, but I'm afraid the sting remains, firefly.'

'How do you bear it, mother?'

'We learn to cope. What else can we do?'

Lin remained in Toph's arms for long minutes, allowing herself one last moment of weakness before stepping back inside the temple.

'Do you want to know what the funny part is?' she asked quietly, giving a brief, hollow laugh. 'For a moment, I truly believed I wouldn't care.'

Toph gave her a sad, lopsided smile.

'We always do. And yet we both kept these,' she added, pulling the sleeve of her uniform up to reveal a bracelet almost identical to the one dangling around Lin's wrist, only made of a darker stone.

'I'm sorry,' Lin simply answered, squeezing her mother's hand.

'Don't be,' Toph replied, squeezing back. 'It brings back good memories.'

Together, mother and daughter clinging to one another, they stepped back inside the temple.

…

For a second during the ceremony, Tenzin's eyes left Pema's to run briefly over the gathering of friends and family on display before him. When he accidentally locked eyes with Lin, who was eyeing the altar from across the room, he felt as if his heart had decided to stop permanently. He looked right through the sparkly green of her eyes, and the terrible ache he felt spreading through his bosom on what should have been the happiest day of his life, made him bitterly aware of two facts.

Firstly, his heart would ever belong to one woman; secondly, it wasn't the one holding his hand at the altar.

…

On the opposite side of the room, Lin Beifong clutched her mother's hand tighter, hoping no one would see the single tear running along her scarred cheek.

A/N: That was Chapter 3! I know it was a sad one, but I'll hopefully make up for it with the next chapters!
(You may even get some interesting scenes, if you know what I mean.)
Thanks a lot for reading, I love you all!
-Wil